Product Description

Now in paperback, the book critics and readers have hailed as a remarkable story of friendship, inspired by gardening

Renowned New Yorker editor Katharine White and Southern garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence began a correspondence in 1958 that lasted until Katharine White"s death in 1977. These letters, edited and introduced by Emily Herring Wilson, bring to life the unique friendship between two intelligent women, both avid gardeners and legendary writers.

More than 150 letters went back and forth during the course of their near-20-year correspondence, though Katharine and Elizabeth would meet face-to-face only once. Whether talking about their gardens or books, friends or family, each held a special place in the other"s life.

Illustrated with photographs of both Katharine White and Elizabeth Lawrence, their families, gardens, and houses, Two Gardeners is a special treat for gardeners, literature lovers, and anyone who delights in reading about women"s friendships.

Emily Herring Wilson is a writer, lecturer, and novice gardener living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Author of two previous books, she is currently writing a biography of Elizabeth Lawrence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #391054 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780807085592
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From The New Yorker
In 1958, Katharine S. White, an editor at this magazine and the wife of E. B. White, began writing a gardening column, which appeared intermittently, like lady's slippers, under the heading "Onward and Upward in the Garden," until 1970. The first essay prompted a fan letter from the distinguished Southern gardener Elizabeth Lawrence, who wrote a weekly column for the Charlotte Observer. In more than a hundred and fifty letters, they discussed subjects ranging from bloom times in their respective zones to meetings with cantankerous plantsmen, their burgeoning families, and, as time passed, the vicissitudes of old age. Those unfamiliar with Lawrence will be glad to meet her; for fans of the Whites, to hear once more about doings in North Brooklin, Maine, is akin to a visitation.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Review
"Edited by Emily Herring Wilson, Two Gardeners, A Friendship in Letters, chronicles the daily struggles of two distinguished journalists, as well as their mutual love for water lilies and small bulbs. . . . The collected correspondence of Lawrence and White takes readers back to a time when most nurseries and mail-order seed houses were small and independent, and gardening in America had just entered a grand new age. " -- Review

"What a pleasure it is to rediscover Katharine White and Elizabeth Lawrence through their singular correspondence. (One even gets a bonus glimpse of Katharine's husband and great love, E. B. White-another letter writer to be reckoned with.) In this 'private garden,' writes Emily Wilson in her graceful introduction, an epistolary friendship grew, and helped sustain two uncommon women for nearly twenty years. To read their letters is to be admitted into the company of two people worth knowing, to enter a more civilized time, before e-mail. For this lovely book Emily Herring Wilson deserves a big bouquet." -Linda H. Davis, author of Onward and Upward: A Biography of Katharine S. White "This is an entrancing book documenting the friendship of two supremely civilized and talented women. It may end up on the gardening shelf in bookstores, where it will instruct garden lovers of all ages. But like all great literary correspondence, it touches and illuminates many aspects of life." -Jill Ker Conway, author of The Road from Coorain and True North "Emily Wilson has given us two remarkable women writers whose friendship is explored through the lens of their mutual passion for gardening. Lawrence and White are two quite different gardeners who nurture each other's souls as well as their border perennials. Two Gardeners is a fascinating glimpse of the writing life through the enrichment of the soil and the spirit." -Linda Lear, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature "It comes as a great but wonderful surprise to learn that over 150 letters were exchanged over a period of more than two decades between Katharine S. White, one of America's finest editors, and Elizabeth Lawrence, one of our very best gardening writers. It's even better to discover that these letters have survived and have been edited with loving care by Emily Herring Wilson. This spirited and revealing correspondence illumines our understanding of American gardening and garden writing in the second half of the twentieth century. This book is a classic, no less than Mrs. White's magnificent Onward and Upward in the Garden and Miss Lawrence's Gardening for Love and A Southern Garden." -Allen Lacy, author of A Year in Our Gardens "Two Gardeners is one of the finest gardening books published in years, largely because it reveals as much about the character of these two remarkable women as it does about the plants they loved." -Verlyn Klinkenborg, The New York Times Book Review "If you are feeling frantic about all those weeds growing in your garden, as well as some impossible workload, you might take to your hammock for a day with Two Gardeners. The break will do you good and so will reading about two other extremely harried women, deadline-driven writers and devoted gardeners." -Anne Raver, The New York Times "In 1958, Katharine S. White, an editor at this magazine and the wife of E. B. White, began writing a gardening column, which appeared intermittently, like lady's slippers, under the heading 'Onward and Upward in the Garden,' until 1970. The first essay prompted a fan letter from the distinguished Southern gardener Elizabeth Lawrence, who wrote a weekly column for The Charlotte Observer. In more than a hundred and fifty letters, they discussed subjects ranging from bloom times in their respective zones to meetings with cantankerous plantsmen, their burgeoning families, and, as time passed, the vicissitudes of old age. Those unfamiliar with Lawrence will be glad to meet her; for fans of the Whites, to hear once more about doings in North Brooklin, Maine, is akin to a visitation." -The New Yorker "Too often we head to the garden center on Saturday morning, load up on plants and call it gardening. Better to experience true garden drama with Two Gardeners." -Newsweek "Savor it; read it slowly if you can, because it will be a long time before such a treasure surfaces again." -Amy Stewart, San Francisco Chronicle "If you haven't dropped a line to your green-thumbed pen pal recently, you will after reading this delightful book." -Stephanie Saulmon, Garden Design

Review

Customer Reviews

Two Gardeners: Katharine S. White & Elizabeth Lawrence--A Friendship in Letters
I was enthralled and deeply moved by this book. Enthralled, because reading their letters was akin to reading modern day garden blogs. I was deeply moved by their deaths because I felt by the end of the book that I knew them.

Their letters also brought back a lot of memories for me. My maternal grandmother was a few years older than Katharine White. Unlike many women of her time, she married late in life and had my mother when she was close to 40. When I knew her, she had retired and was living in an apartment. I loved accompanying her when she went "visiting". Part of those visits involved tours of her friends' gardens. Gardens that looked very much like the photos and descriptions of Katharine's and Elizabeth's gardens. Their letters sounded eerily like the conversations during those visits.

The descriptions of the flower shows made me laugh! I remember shows like those derided in their letters. My poor mother tried and tried to learn flower arranging. Books, classes, garden club lectures, nothing helped. She finally settled on just entering specimen plants and flowers. I should add that she won several prizes in local shows. And that I inherited her inability to arrange flowers in an attractive manner.

Gardening grows long-distance friendship
From what I could tell in their letters, Katharine White and Elizabeth Lawrence only met in person once. Their correspondence allowed them to know one another in such a different manner. The differences between a "Southern" and "Northern" gardener were trivial in so many ways. And yet, their friendship let each woman grow in gardening knowledge.
I picked the book up because I've visited Blue Hill, Maine and have always loved E.B. White's work. Now I'm going looking for more of Katharine and Elizabeth.